Kingmaker

Disturbing. We completed our exploration of the town and what was clearly once a growing population centre was now a ghost town. Not a soul yet lived within its buildings and the emptiness echoed in despair. With our search of the town now complete our sights turned to the fort that overlooked the village from a nearby hill top.

Scouting. As we approached the hill fort we decided to send our two most accomplished scouts to investigate and so Sajan and Ashaman were sent forth. Quickly blending in with the few shadows and objects that provided cover in this mostly cleared landscape around the fort they easily made their way to the wall. The tops of helms could be seen over the ramparts and movement had been glimpsed along the wall tops. Either survivors or slayers of the village we did not yet know. Caution and stealth continued to be our course as the rest of the party waited impatiently and viewed the events with a spyglass wielded by the mighty cavalier Flavius.

Breaching the gates. With the scouts now positioned at the wall Flavius watched through his spyglass as Sajan expertly scaled the wall and flipped over the ramparts smoothly landing and instantly melting into shadows on the other side. Ashaman meanwhile began clawing at the wall before falling onto his back. Odd. Sajan’s head peaked over the edge as communicated what was within to the now prone Ashaman. The helms before seen from below were now realized to be but only empty vessels placed upon poles and no signs of life were detected nearby. Sajan made his way to the gate so that all of his friends could enter. Ashaman resumed his futile clawing at the wall. Flavius, who observed this peculiar struggle, lost patience and the party approached. The gate was opened and the party entered – including Ashaman who had given up his pathetic attempts at climbing.

The courtyard. The party, now within the mighty gates, looked around and observed their surroundings. No sign of movement anywhere. The empty helms clearly visible from this side. They somehow resisted the impulse to steal all of the helms and moved forward to explore. The stealthy pair of Sajan and Ashaman once again moved forward to explore and scout some smoke that was scene rising from deeper within the fort while the party moved up to investigate a nearby blacksmith – clearly their desire for easy loot and reward was not entirely absent.

The blacksmith. Well…it was a blacksmith. Nothing exciting. Much like the people the good loot was absent without a trace and the baser metals did not attract anyone’s eye. Was god toying with them? Did excellent loot not gather in places such as this? Alas it was not to be. The party, confused, paused to take stock of the situation.

The scouts again. Easily melting into the shadows the pair moved forward. Not that far away they found the source of the smoke. A lone stranger stood poised over a firepit turning a large flank of meat upon a spit over a healthy fire that licked at its edges and the smell of savory and succulent meat permeated the area. Near the figure there stood 4 large dogs far greater in size than the standard type. An odd group indeed. The scouts decided to leave as quietly as they arrived and headed back to the party thinking that they had not been noticed.

A party again. The group now fully assembled. Scouts returned with the information on what lie ahead and the sullen hapless looters finding nothing within the forges they quickly came to the decision that they should approach in peace and talk to this stranger who was clearly here hiding from the evils outside and only seeking refuge with his strangely large hounds.

We come in peace. The party calmly walked from the shadows together and greeted the stranger. “Hail friend. Let us join you at your fire and speak of this strange place.” Well the scouts must have been successful earlier as their strange friend was startled by their presence but that quickly passed as he reacted. “To arms!! Hounds – ATTACK!!!”. This moment hung in the air and if the paladin Flam snarling and charging forward wasn’t a strong enough sign it was quickly becoming clear that this individual was clearly evil. Maybe we should have checked first? Maybe saying hello wasn’t the best move here? Maybe someone should have thought this through first? But it was too late for that. For now – battle was afoot.

Several adventurers arrived at Oleg’s Trading Post on the southern border of Brevoy. Tasked with taming the section of the Stolen Lands called “The Greenbelt”, these adventurers immediately began their quest by defending the trading post from a group of marauding bandits.

Over the course of their journey they cleansed a Holy Temple of Erastil from a cursed bear, met some tricksy fey in the forest, befriended a tribe of kobolds by returning their holy symbol from a group of fiendish mites, and defeated the leader of the bandits, The Stag Lord.

Impressed with their work, the Swordlords of Rostland permitted them to begin building their own kingdom. Provided with resources from the north, the adventurers quickly founded their capital city in the ruins of the Stag Lord’s Fort, Hoth. And thus, the Kingdom of Alderaan was born.

Now while the adventurers had foothold into the Greenbelt, they were far from secure. The need to explore the rest of their borders was paramount for their new kingdom’s saftey. While on this journey they were presented with many adventures. An abandoned elvish fort contained a beautiful woman who ensnared most of the group under a magic spell. A small boy was rescued from a lizardfolk camp, as a evil Will’ O’ Wisp commanded the lizardfolk to torture him. At an old ferry crossing, a disturbed undead creature cursed the adventurers to never-ending nightmares unless they could prove that the Stag Lord was dead.

But these brave adventurers pressed on, overcoming all obstacles presented to them. It soon became apparent however, that not just the adventurers themselves were the targets of attacks, but that their city and kingdom were equally vulnerable. A bard sent from a far away land to turn the population against the adventurers. Werewolf attacks and an incursion of trolls. Finally a giant owlbear, wearing leather barding no less, smashed through their city’s walls and caused much destruction.

Once again the adventurers proved themselves up to the task and defeated all remaining threats to their kingdom. Buildings were repaired, crops replanted, and life continued for all those in this new fledgling kingdom. It seems as if the heroes are unstoppable and that the Kingdom of Alderaan is now safe and secure.

But it would appear that their neighbours have not been so lucky. A message from Brevoy has arrived, and with it curious news indeed. The town of Varnhold to the east has gone completely silent. Mercenaries sent to discover their fate have not returned. The Lord Mayor of Restov has requested the adventurers aid in discovering what has happened to the folk of Varnhold.

As the heroes begin preparing for the long journey ahead, they can’t help but wonder what new challenges await. For the Stolen Land has proven to them one thing.

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.